Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Taste Of London...

... and this IS just a taste. I started going through my photos with the intention of only grabbing a few "highlights", but there were so many that I was completely overwhelmed. Let it suffice to say that I am sharing a few favorites and that I will be sharing more in the future. I intend to put a complete album online for you to browse, and also edit my video for viewing.

I really DO have enough London-y material (personal, historical and fashion-y) to swamp this blog for months, if you want. After all, although I write the blog for my own enjoyment, I want to keep my readers interested. So please cast a vote in the poll in the right-hand sidebar (you can choose multiple answers) and tell me what you'd like to see. And be honest!

Now, on to the photos... :)

Cari and I strolling along the edge of the Tower of London (did you know that it really is a fortress? The actual "tower" is just a small part of it all). Tower Bridge is behind us. Walking across it with the wind whipping by was definitely one of the best things I did. This is officially my most favorite bridge in the whole world. ;)

Big Ben (which I totally fell for) and the Houses of Parliament from the London Eye (which you can also see in the second picture). Out-of-this-world amazing and definitely something I recommend doing if you ever get the chance! We chose the perfect time to ride it; with the sun setting and all the lights of London coming on below us...

Standing behind Buckingham Palace after our tour. It was insanely gorgeous (I could totally get used to the royalty thing... ;) and reminded me how much I love Queen Elizabeth II. She is such a beautiful, classy fashionista!

St. James' Park was also stunning and had some lovely rose gardens...

I just loved the red telephone booths all over the place.... when they were clean. This one had apparently been used as a toilet! :P

Here I am sitting by the fountains in Trafalgar Square. This is where my grandfather was on VE day - supposedly the celebrations were quite something! ;)

One of my absolute favorite shots of the week, with my girlies watching As You Like It at the Globe Theater. It was an amazing performance and had us all in stitches. I think we were the loudest people in the theater - three cheers for screaming American girls!!! Clockwise from me: Cassie, Cari, Abbe, Molly and Amy. Yeah, I'm going to have to start calling myself "Mandy" if I want to fit in... ;)

To sum up... I had the time of my life. The most exhausting whirlwind of a week and totally worth every aching step (even the over 1000 steps up and down St. Paul's Cathedral - Cari has permanent foot damage to show for it... ;). Thanks so much to everyone who has commented, prayed and been excited for me - you are all very appreciated and I just can't wait to share more pictures with you! God bless! xo

13 comments:

Nice pictures Amanda! I really like the picture to the left of the Big Ben one, very dynamic! I am glad to hear that you maintained the reputation of we Americans for being one of the loudest and most expressive people groups in the world! :D

AH!!! The memories of London! I had so much fun meeting you again and to meet Cari! I can't wait to read and see all of your adventures, besides when my mom and I got lost with you guys in the bad part of town. ;) Fun times! :)